March 2008 MMA News Archive - Page 5

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During Fedor's seminar in the Netherlands M-1 Mixfight Alexander Shuldyakov (Head of Information Department) and Mix Fight M-1 - Mixed Martial Arts Editor Michael Mazur got an opportunity of catching up with Gilbert Yvel, famous Dutch MMA fighter with 45 bouts. Extreme efficiency of his vicious fists and kicks is proven with 28 (T)KOs in his 32 victories. Gilbert shared his thoughts about the upcoming fight against fellow Dutchman Alistair Overeem in this short interview

Ryan Stonitsch might not feel it, but the pressure will be there when he steps Wednesday onto the big stage in Las Vegas for his first World Extreme Cagefighting match.
That’s just how it is when you’re the first local to get a big-time Mixed Martial Arts fight outside of the Midwest.
“Oh, I feel it. I know there’s a whole lot of fighters from around Rockford watching to see how I do. This could be a chance to show everybody out there in Vegas, and in MMA, that guys from Rockford need to be reckoned with,” said the 31-year-old Stonitsch who is part of Wednesday’s WEC eight-bout card inside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
I wish him the best, I used to live around the Rockford area and I'll be rooting for him. Looks to have the skill set to stop Alex. Should be a good fight!

Calling World Extreme Cagefighting's Brian Stann battle-tested is misleading. In one way, he isn't. And in another, more profound way, he is.
At 5-0, Stann's victories have come in the first round either by knockout or TKO. He hasn't exactly been challenged.
But in his day job, Stann knows what it is like to fight when the stakes are life and death.

Yeah, “9mm” is a cool nickname, one of the best in mixed martial arts today. But when you find out why WEC lightweight contender Ed Ratcliff used to be called “The Blade”, it’s even more impressive.
“I do a front flip and come down with an axe kick to the body,” laughs Ratcliff of the move performed on a prone opponent when usually leg kicks suffice as an offensive weapon. “We call that the sling blade.”
Wow. Pretty impressive. But has he ever pulled it off in a fight?
“Twice,” he said. “I missed once but I landed it on the next guy.”

n October of this year, Din Thomas officially makes ten years as a mixed martial arts magician. Within that time the UFC has changed hands, sparked popular culture interest and landed its flag in the heart of the Queen’s land. Names have brightened and interchangeably waned dim with some being lost in history’s rear view. For these reasons, fans celebrate the athletes who have sacrificed tirelessly to remain relevant through the years. Din Thomas, a stalwart survivor, is now the reluctant picture of such celebrated longevity.

WEC today officially announced WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber vs. former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver for the title on June 1 at WEC 34. WEC also announced that Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres makes his first defense on the card.

Dana talks about the Shamrocks, more UFC in Canada, Kimbo, Tito and what he loves and hates about his job.
Its a pretty cool interview and he still seams to have respect for Randy. Not a bad word to say about him when questioned!

A bout featuring heavyweights Mike Kyle and Wayne Cole has been scheduled to replace a postponed EliteXC welterweight title match between Jake Shields and Drew Fickett that had been planned for Saturday’s co-promoted card by Strikeforce and EliteXC.

Elite Xtreme Combat has signed two-time All-American wrestler Paul Bradley to a contract, ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has confirmed through Bradley’s manager, Mike Camp.
Terms of the contract and a possible debut date for Bradley are not yet known.

Suffering the first loss of his professional career in December 2007, Gilbert Melendez has been chomping at the bit to get back into competition. After multiple opponent changes, the current Strikeforce lightweight champion is ready to face Gabe Lemley on March 29 in San Jose, Calif.

Cung Le held a media event today at his new gym in Milpitas, CA to promote his up coming fight against Frank Shamrock on March 29th for the Strikeforce middleweight title. The event consisted of a light work out and then a brief interview session with the local media outlets.

Monte Cox, the President and CEO of M-1 Global, joined "The Savage Dog Show" on the Sherdog Radio Network Monday to discuss the company's rumored dissolution and the status of prized heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

Fedor Emelianenko recently sat down for a very candid interview with Sport Express.ru. Fightline.com was able to obtain a wonderful translation of the article which appeared on the Sherdog forums. Enjoy.
The Best Fighter in the world in Chuck Norris version. (They mean Chuck Norris here as an org, like UFC. Doesn't make much sense in English, I know; but they're trying to make a joke in Russian).
We missed our Tula train - so Fedor Emelianenko had to wait for us near the Kursk station entrance. He was wearing worn out jeans and a funny hat - nobody recognized him. Legend of legends. One of the most mystical personalities in the sports world: in Mixed Martial Arts, Emelianenko, the first Russian world champion, doesn't know defeat. And each fight, according to rumors, adds half a million dollars to his bank account.

They don’t want to fight me, I hit too hard! Kimbo doesn’t want to fight anybody that can knock him out and I’m the man that can do it. Kimbo doesn’t want to fight anybody that can hit and I can definitely hit.”
Butterbean also says he can take Kimbo’s punches. Sadly, this is a fight that could actually happen and no one — real MMAers, at least — wants to see it. Place your bets now: does Butterbean last longer than Tank Abbott did?
Full Butterbean interview

I got a chance to interview WEC light-heavyweight champion Doug "The Rhino" Marshall last week. He is a very interesting character. We talked about his upcoming fight against Brian Stann, how he got started in MMA, his family, his childhood, his inspiration for fighting and how he transformed himself from a street-fighter into a mixed martial artist.
To check out the entire interview, click this link:

The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) and Fox Sports Net (FSN) announced today that the IFL's weekly, one-hour "Fight Night" show will begin its 2008 run on Saturday, April 19, at midnight local time. The show, which will begin with the IFL World Grand Prix finals from December 29, will run in that time slot through mid-July, a slot which will give the IFL limited preemptions on the FSN regional network in a spot that is key for the demo that follows the sport.